Tell us about The Melba & Beyond. The Melba & Beyond is a place for storytelling in a fun, safe and inclusive way. That said all of the shows use unconventional genres and techniques to tell their story. Juggling, song, knife throwing, dance, clowning, acrobatics and puppets are all used to communicate in each performance.
What do you offer? The Melba Spiegeltent operates year round with programming from a variety of different genres. For Melbourne Fringe we are throwing the doors of Circus Oz open to create additional venues to showcase more intimate work.
What do your shows say about society today? The idea is to challenge the concept of what different genres are and how in today’s artistic landscape nothing is ever just one thing anymore.
What do you want the audience to take away from the shows? We want the audience to walk away with a smile on their faces. Some of the shows will challenge people’s ideas and comfort zones, but for that, we have our central bar area where they can talk through what they have seen with their friends or the artists themselves.
What’s a fun fact about The Melba Spiegeltent? The Melba Spiegeltent, located at the Circus Oz home in Collingwood, was built in Belgium in 1910. It travelled across Europe and saw numerous performances through its bevelled doors, including Edith Piaf and Kurt Weil in the ‘20s and ‘30s. In 2006 it came to Australia and was renamed after Australia’s fabulous opera soprano, Dame Nellie Melba.
